Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 30, No. 3, pp.

606–624, 2003
 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Printed in Great Britain
0160-7383/03/$30.00
www.elsevier.com/locate/atoures
doi:10.1016/S0160-7383(03)00024-0

TOURIST ROLES, PERCEIVED RISK

AND INTERNATIONAL TOURISM
Andrew Lepp
Heather Gibson
University of Florida, USA

Abstract: International tourists can be classified according to the degree of novelty and
familiarity sought. This study investigated the hypothesis that tourists seeking familiarity
would perceive higher levels of risk associated with international tourism than those seeking
novelty. A random sample of US-born young adults was surveyed. Seven risk factors were
identified: health, political instability, terrorism, strange food, cultural barriers, a nation’s
political and religious dogma, and crime. Three-way ANOVAs revealed that women perceived
a greater degree of risk regarding health and food. More experienced tourists downplayed
the threat of terrorism. However, tourist role was the most significant variable, with familiarity
seekers being the most risk adverse. Keywords: tourist role, perceived risk, novelty and famili-
arity, international tourism.  2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Résumé: Rôles des touristes, risques perçus et tourisme international. On peut classifier les
touristes internationaux en fonction du degré de nouveauté et de familiarité qu’ils recherch-
ent. La présente étude a exploré l’hypothèse que les touristes qui recherchent un environne-
ment familier percevraient des risques plus élevés associés au toruisme international que les
touristes qui recherchent la nouveauté. On a sondé un échantillon pris au hasard et composé
de 290 jeunes adultes nés aux USA. Sept facteurs de risque ont été identifiés: santé, instabilité
politique, terrorisme, nourriture inhabituelle, obstacles culturels, dogmes politiques et relig-
ieux du pays et crime. Un logiciel ANOVA à trois facteurs a révélé que les femmes perçoivent
un plus haut degré de risque pour la santé et la nourriture. Les touristes plus expérimentés
minimisaient la menace du terrorisme. Pourtant, le rôle du touriste était la variable la plus
significative, et ceux qui cherchaient la familiarité étaient les plus opposés aux risques. Mots-
clés: rôle du touriste, risque aperçu, nouveauté et familiarité, tourisme à l’étranger.  2003
Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

INTRODUCTION
Governments, travel agents, and the news media periodically issue
warnings about the risks associated with international tourism. Tourists
are urged to buy traveler’s checks, guidebooks, and bottled water, and
to obtain vaccinations as precautions against such risks. Indeed, surveys
consistently note that safety and security are important concerns
among individuals vacationing abroad (Poon and Adams 2000). Yet

Andrew Lepp is a Doctoral student in the Department of Recreation, Parks and Tourism,
University of Florida (Gainesville FL 32611-8209, USA. Email <alepp@hhp.ufl.edu>). His
research interests include tourism and international development and nature-based tourism.
Heather Gibson is Associate Professor in the same department. Her research interests include
gender and life span issues related to leisure and tourism.

606
 LEPP AND GIBSON 607

despite the pervasiveness of these beliefs and practices in everyday cul-

ture, there has been little academic research exploring the perceived
risk associated with international tourism. The issue of perceived risk
raises such important questions as how different types of tourists per-
ceive international tourism in terms of risk and safety, and what factors
influence this perception.
Previous investigations have identified four major risk factors: terror-
ism (Sönmez, Apostolopoulos and Tarlow 1999; Aziz 1995; Bar-On
1996; Leslie 1999; Richter and Waugh 1986; Enders, Sandler and Parise
1992; Sönmez and Graefe 1998a, 1998b; Sönmez 1998); war and polit-
ical instability (Gartner and Shen 1992; Hollier 1991; Ioannides and
Apostolopoulos 1999; Mansfeld 1996, 1999; Richter 1992, 1999; Sed-
dighi, Nuttall and Theocharous 2000; Teye 1986; Wall 1996); health
concerns (Carter 1998; Cossens and Gin 1994; Lawton and Page 1997);
and crime (Brunt, Mawby and Hambly 2000; Dimanche and Leptic
1999; Ellis 1995; Garcia and Nicholls 1995; Hall, Selwood and McKe-
won 1995; Moore and Berno 1995; Pizam, Tarlow and Bloom 1997;
Pizam 1999).
The relationship between tourism and terrorism gained inter-
national notoriety in 1972 during the Munich Olympic Games. The
Palestinian attack on Israeli athletes left eleven people dead and intro-
duced a global television audience of nearly 800 million viewers to
terrorism (Sönmez and Graefe 1998a). Since then, international tour-
ists have been acutely aware of this relationship. One of the most infa-
mous acts of terrorism against tourists occurred in Egypt in 1997 when
gunmen killed 71 tourists outside of Luxor. Indeed, tourists are often
the specific targets of terrorist organizations. In Egypt, Aziz (1995)
explained tourism has come to represent capitalism and conspicuous
consumption and an attack on tourists signifies ideological opposition
to these western values. In other areas of the world, where tourism is
a state sponsored industry, an attack on tourists can symbolize an attack
on the government (Richter and Waugh 1986; Sönmez 1998). Most
recently, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in the United
States resulted in 6.8% fewer international tourists visiting North Amer-
ica in the same year compared to the previous year (World Tourism
Organization 2002).
Like terrorism, political instability and war can increase the percep-
tion of risk at a destination. As a result of the conflict in Tiananmen
Square in China, approximately 11,500 tourists canceled visits to Beij-
ing in 1989 (Gartner and Shen 1992). The Persian Gulf War in 1990
caused such a massive redirection of tourists away from the Middle East
that hotels in Israel were used to house Russian immigrants instead
of tourists (Hollier 1991). War and political instability can also affect
neighboring countries not directly involved in any conflict. For
example, the burgeoning tourism industry in Zambia was completely
crippled after the US State Department issued a travel advisory for
Zimbabwe, Zambia’s neighbor (Teye 1986). This phenomenon has
been identified as the generalization effect (Enders, Sandler and Parise
1992), whose reach may sometimes appear astounding. During the Per-
sian Gulf War, for instance, destinations as far removed as Kenya and
608 PERCEIVED RISK

Tanzania were negatively impacted (Honey 1999). The generalization

effect also applies to health related risk.
Carter (1998) found in a study of healthcare as a perceived risk fac-
tor that entire continents could be generalized as perilous or safe. In
particular, he found that Europe and North America are widely
regarded as safe from infectious pathogens, although recent events
may have challenged this image. During the spring of 2001, confusion
over the health related effects of “mad cow disease” and the outbreak
of foot and mouth disease in the United Kingdom deterred thousands
of potential tourists from the United States (CNN Europe 2001). How-
ever, in general, Europe is regarded as relatively safe in terms of health-
related dangers, whereas tourists commonly view Africa as a breeding
ground for infection, particularly HIV. A related study by Cossens and
Gin (1994) echoed these results. They found that health risks stem-
ming from poor food and water quality are perceived to be greater in
Africa and Asia than in Europe and Australasia.
A common perception among tourists is that they are “easy targets”
for criminals. Some reasons for this may be that tourists typically carry
large sums of money; engage in “risky” behaviors (frequent nightclubs,
consume alcohol, move through strange places, etc.); are ignorant of
local languages, signs, and customs; and lack local support groups
(Pizam, Tarlow and Bloom 1997). However, contrary to these findings,
Brunt, Mawby and Hambly (2000) found that crime was not a major
concern for British tourists abroad. In order to avoid becoming victims
of crime, many tourists make an effort to “blend in” with the locals.
Such behavior may include keeping a low profile, dressing more casu-
ally, eliminating conspicuous consumption, and not identifying them-
selves with other foreigners. Realistically, blending in is difficult for
tourists, whose behavior and the places they visit easily separate them
from locals (Sönmez 1998). Furthermore, language differences create
barriers that are perceived as troublesome (Basala and Klenosky 2001).
Based on this background, it seems reasonable to suggest that tour-
ists feel safer in familiar environments, whereas novel envsironments
may present greater risk. This study investigated the relationship
between tourists’ preference for novelty or familiarity and their percep-
tion of risk associated with international tourism.

NOVELTY PREFERENCE AND RISK AVERSION

Novelty as an indicator of perceived risk and a constraint on tourism
has received little attention from researchers. However, novelty as a
motive has been a subject of investigation over the years. Crompton
(1979) identified novelty as one of two pull factors affecting desti-
nation choice. He postulated that individuals who experience a state
of disequilibrium may be motivated to take a vacation. Visiting a novel
destination may be one way of restoring psychological balance. Wahlers
and Etzel (1985), using Berlyne’s (1960) concept of optimal level of
stimulation, found that stimulation deficit could be countered with
travel to novel destinations while stimulation overload could be coun-
tered with travel to familiar environments. Bello and Etzel (1985) com-
 LEPP AND GIBSON 609

pared individuals who chose novelty with those who chose common-
place travel and found that sociodemographic characteristics alone did
not predict the likelihood of being one type of tourist or the other.
Instead, Bello and Etzel postulated that novelty seeking might be asso-
ciated with an individual’s lifestyle or environmental characteristics.
These findings appear to lend support to the contention that individ-
uals differ in the degree to which they seek novelty and familiarity and
this choice seems to be somewhat determined by underlying psycho-
logical qualities. Indeed, it is conceivable that the level of novelty asso-
ciated with a particular destination may act as a pull factor for some
individuals and conversely may repel others (Elsrud 2001).
Discussion concerning the idea that tourists differ in the degree to
which they seek novelty calls attention to the work of Cohen (1972),
who identified four types of international tourists based on their pref-
erence for either familiarity or novelty: the organized mass tourist, the
individual mass tourist, the explorer, and the drifter. The organized
mass tourist prefers the greatest amount of familiarity and travels in
an “environmental bubble” of the familiar on a packaged tour. Inde-
pendent mass tourists also place a premium on familiarity. However,
they travel independently, although they stick to the regular tourist
routes. Explorers prefer a comfortable mix of familiarity and novelty.
They venture away from the beaten path and explore local culture,
but only within a safe distance of their “environmental bubble” which
they maintain in case a retreat from novelty is necessary. The last type,
drifters, represent the opposite end of the spectrum from the
organized mass tourist. For them, novelty is at a premium and they
shun the regular tourist route, preferring instead the ways of the host
society. To relate this to perceived risk, a tourist seeking familiarity is
likely to view alien environments as more risky than a tourist seeking
novelty. Each tourist understands the situation differently depending
on his or her need for novelty or familiarity.
Since Cohen developed this typology, few researchers have con-
sidered these roles as indicators of perceived risk. However, several
studies have sought to substantiate his typology and their findings sug-
gest such a use would be appropriate. Pearce (1982, 1985), taking a
lead from Cohen, identified 15 travel-related roles. Using multidimen-
sional scaling, he demonstrated that tourists differ in terms of the
degree of familiarity and novelty they seek in a destination. Likewise,
Yiannakis and Gibson (1992), in a continuation of this work, identified
three underlying dimensions associated with 13 leisure-based tourist
roles: strangeness (novelty) and familiarity, stimulating and tranquil,
and high and low structure. Again, they found support for the idea
that it is possible to distinguish tourists based on the degree of novelty
they seek in a destination. Similarly, Lee and Crompton (1992)
developed an instrument to measure the role of novelty in the desti-
nation choice process. Like Cohen, Lee and Crompton suggested that
tourists vary in the amount of novelty they wish to experience. They
operationalized novelty as a multidimensional construct composed of
thrill, change of routine, boredom alleviation, and surprise. Their fin-
610 PERCEIVED RISK

dings show that tourists differ in their desire for novel experiences and
that this may form part of the destination evaluation process.
Mo, Howard and Havitz (1993, 1994) developed the International
Tourist Role scale to test Cohen’s typology. In subsequent studies using
this scale, Keng and Cheng (1999) and Jiang, Havitz and O’Brien
(2000) found that novelty seeking is related to choice of tourist role.
Similarly, Basala and Klenosky (2001), in a study utilizing the concept
of roles, found that tourists differed in the degree to which they rated
language concerns as important when choosing a destination. Famili-
arity seekers considered language to be an important consideration
while their counterparts were not as concerned about potential langu-
age differences. These findings seem to indicate that tourist role pref-
erence may be a predictor of perceived risk in that language differ-
ences may be viewed by some tourists as making them more vulnerable
to crime (Pizam, Tarlow and Bloom 1997) or other types of unwanted
attention. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that the degree of nov-
elty sought appears to be a good predictor of tourist role preference.
Thus, it is hypothesized that differences among tourists in the degree
of novelty or familiarity sought on a vacation may translate into differ-
ences in the level of risk they perceive to be associated with inter-
national tourism.

Perceived Risk and Tourists

Although previous studies have not explored perceived risk in
relation to Cohen’s typology, several studies have identified other fac-
tors that vary among individuals and can influence perceived risk.
Roehl and Fesenmaier (1992) classified tourists into three groups
based on their perception of risk: risk neutral, functional risk, and
place risk. The risk neutral group did not consider tourism or their
destination to involve risk. The functional risk group considered the
possibility of mechanical, equipment, or organizational problems as
the major source of tourism related risk. The place risk group per-
ceived vacations as fairly risky and the destination of their most recent
vacation as very risky. Although no attempt was made to link these
categories with Cohen’s tourist role typology, an interesting similarity
is evident. The risk neutral group emphasized more of a need to
experience excitement and adventure when on vacation than the other
two groups. Furthermore, the authors proposed that these tourists may
be able to frame uncertainty (or risk) as part of the excitement of
tourism. This suggests a quest for novelty similar to the explorers and
drifters of Cohen’s typology.
In a survey of 500 international tourists, Sönmez and Graefe (1998a,
1998b) found perceived risk was a stronger predictor of avoiding a
particular region than of planning to visit one. For example, those
perceiving terrorism as a risk were more likely to avoid the Middle
East. Past experience was also found to have a significant impact on
touristic decisions, with experienced international tourists perceiving
less risk. This relationship may be explained somewhat by Pearce’s
(1988, 1996) concept of the Travel Career Ladder. Grounded in Mas-
 LEPP AND GIBSON 611

low’s (1943) hierarchy of needs, Pearce hypothesized that more experi-

enced tourists seek to satisfy higher order needs, while less experienced
tourists are more likely to be occupied with lower order needs such as
food and safety. Pearce also noted a link between travel career and life
stage, assuming that older tourists may be more experienced. Interest-
ingly, Sönmez and Graefe (1998a) found that age did not influence
an individual’s perception of risk among their sample. However, Gib-
son and Yiannakis (2002), in an investigation of tourist role preference
over the life course, found that preference for risk related tourism
tended to decrease with age.
Drifter tourism, or what is now more commonly called budget travel
or backpacking, also tends to decrease with age (Cohen 1973; Gibson
and Yiannakis 2002). In studies of drifters (Cohen 1973), budget trav-
elers (Riley 1988), youth travelers (Adler 1985; Vogt 1978), and back-
packers (Elsrud 2001; Hampton 1998; Loker-Murphy and Pearce 1995;
Loker-Murphy 1996; Scheyvens 2002; Uriely, Yonay and Simchai 2002),
there is a growing realization that non-institutionalized tourism styles
(explorers and drifters) favored particularly by individuals in their 20s
and 30s are not homogeneous in terms of motivation (Loker-Murphy
1996) and perceptions of novelty and risk (Carr 2001; Elsrud 2001;
Riley 1988; Scheyvens 2002; Uriely, Yonay and Simchai 2002). Elsrud
(2001) found that risk and adventure are central to the construction
of backpacker identity and that perception of risk increases with the
degree of novelty associated with a particular destination. Moreover,
she found that some backpackers were attracted to a location because
of the risk associated with it and some were equally repelled by the
same perception of risk. This finding supports a thesis that has been
discussed through the years that drifter tourism of the type Cohen
(1972, 1973) discussed is becoming more institutionalized with its own
routes (Hampton 1998), accommodations, (Loker-Murphy and Pearce
1995), and backpacker enclaves (Scheyvens 2002). The institutionaliz-
ation of backpacker tourism not only shields them from the local
people, food and customs, but also dilutes the novelty and risk associa-
ted with the unfamiliar. In an attempt to understand this trend, Uriely,
Yonay and Simchai (2002) proposed the use of two theoretical con-
structs: forms (length of trip, category of accommodation, mode of
transportation, etc.) and types (motivations, meanings of tourism, atti-
tude towards home culture, etc.). They suggest that while backpackers
may share an identity based on their form of travel, they are not homo-
geneous in terms of their attitudes and motivations (types). Some back-
packers are akin to Cohen’s (1972) drifter while others prefer diver-
sionary and recreational modes of tourism (Cohen 1979). As an
explanation, perhaps many backpackers assume the form of drifter
tourist, yet their modus operandi is that of the explorer role.
Elsrud (2001) suggested that the narratives of risk and adventure
associated with backpacker tourism are constructed as masculine. This
raises the issue of gender. Sönmez and Graefe (1998a) found that gen-
der did not influence an individual’s perception of risk, yet other
researchers have found that it does influence touristic choices (Carr
2001; Deem 1996; Gibson and Jordan 1998a, 1998b; Enloe 1989; Hawes
612 PERCEIVED RISK

1988; Kinnaird and Hall 1996; McGehee, Loker-Murphy and Uysal

1996; Squire 1994; Wearing and Wearing 1996). Gibson and Jordan
found that gender alone does not explain the diversity of travel styles
among solo women tourists. Among those interviewed, there was an
awareness of an increased vulnerability as a result of being female;
however, this did not stop them travelling. Instead, they adopted risk
reducing strategies similar to the women Elsrud interviewed. They took
calculated risks while traveling from which they gained a sense of
empowerment and adventure. Carr (2001) found similar patterns
among the young tourists he surveyed in London, UK. While there
were gender differences in the perceptions of danger associated with
the city at night, with more women perceiving the greater risks, this
was not consistent among those interviewed. Carr postulated that other
factors such as personality type might also be influential on an individ-
ual’s perception of danger in a vacation destination.
Perceptions of risk associated with international tourism have also
been found to vary by nationality (Seddighi, Nuttall and Theocharous
2001). They found that levels of perceived risk differed among travel
agents from six Western European countries. This discussion suggests
that in order to thoroughly understand the perception of risk among
international tourists, tourist role (as an indicator of degree of novelty
sought), past touristic experience, age, gender, and nationality should
all be considered.
The purpose of this study was twofold: to identify the perceived risk
factors associated with international tourism for young American
adults and to determine if the degree of risk associated with each factor
varies according to gender, previous travel experience (hereafter
“experience”) or tourist role (hereafter “role”). Four research ques-
tions guided this study: what factors of perceived risk are associated
with international tourism for young adults; whether their preferences
for novelty or familiarity as defined by Cohen influence their percep-
tions of such risk; whether gender influences their perceptions of it;
and whether previous experience influences perceptions of risk asso-
ciated with international tourism.

Study Methods
Systematic random sampling procedures were used to survey 290 US-
born young adults over a three-week period in the fall of 2000. Spatial
locational sampling was used to identify five high foot traffic areas at
a large southeastern US university. The campus is largely restricted to
pedestrian access, and walkways converge at locations most students
will visit during an average week. The student union, the main library,
the science library, the recreation center, and the bookstore were the
five locations used for this study. A schedule was established whereby
data were collected at each site during different days of the week and
at different times of the day to maximize the chances of obtaining a
representative sample. At each data collection point, participants were
selected using systematic random sampling procedures with an interval
of five and a random entry point. A screening question was used to
 LEPP AND GIBSON 613

select only those who had been born and raised in the US. It was felt
that foreign nationals and those who had lived overseas for extended
periods would perceive the risks associated with international tourism
differently (Seddighi, Nuttall and Theocharous 2001). Further, the age
of the sample was delimited to ages 18 to 30. It was felt that lifestage
might influence touristic style, perceived risk, and travel career stage
(Gibson and Yiannakis 2002; Pearce 1988, 1996).
Of the 290 respondents, 154 were female (53%), 136 male (47%).
As would be expected on a college campus, 92% of respondents were
between the ages of 18 and 22, with the remainder between 23 and
30, and only 2% of the total married. In this sample, 95% were under-
graduate students and 5% graduate students. The racial composition
of the sample was 75% white, 12% African-American, 9% Hispanic,
and 1% Asian. The remainder chose “other” or did not respond. The
resulting sample is comparable to the university’s student body in
terms of gender and race (women to men 52:48 ratio; 23% of students
are minorities). As to their tourism experience, 40% had never traveled
beyond the United States, 21% beyond the United States but not
beyond North America, and 39% beyond North America. According
to Cohen’s tourist role typology, 9% classified themselves as organized
mass tourists, 34% as independent mass tourists, 47% classified as
explorers, and 9% as drifters.
The survey instrument was a self administered fixed-choice question-
naire. Part one contained 19 items that operationalized risk factors
thought to be associated with international tourism. Respondents used
a five point Likert scale (1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree) to
judge the importance of each risk factor. Part two contained four state-
ments describing the behaviors of Cohen’s four tourist roles. Respon-
dents identified which of the roles best described them. Part three
and four asked about previous tourism experiences and demographic
information, respectively.
Frequencies were used to determine the percentage of respondents
who agreed each item represented a risk for international tourism.
Over 50% of respondents agreed that 16 of the 19 items presented
risks. Of the three items not perceived to be risky, one read, “traveling
on a US passport is a concern for me.” This question targeted the fear
that Americans are singled out for terrorism. Only 41% agreed with
it. Because two other items targeting terrorism aroused concern among
a majority of respondents, this item was eliminated from further analy-
sis. The two items that did not generate obvious concern both targeted
strange food, with 52% and 62% of respondents disagreeing with
them, respectively. As these were the only items targeting food, and it
is reasonable to believe familiarity-seeking tourists avoid strange food
(Cohen 1972), they were retained for the scale. The resulting 18 items
were tested for reliability using Cronbach’s alpha (α = .81). This is an
improvement over a pilot study completed in the spring of 1999 that
targeted similar risk factors. The pilot study used 21 items with a sam-
ple of 87 and had a Cronbach’s alpha of .67.
The data were analyzed using SPSS frequencies and analysis of vari-
ance (ANOVA). The 18 items measuring the risks associated with inter-
614 PERCEIVED RISK

national tourism were grouped into seven specific factors according to

a predetermined conceptual model. Four factors (terrorism, political
insecurity and war, health, and crime) were derived from the literature,
two factors (cross-cultural concerns and food concerns) were derived
from the use of foreign language phrase books and guidebooks, and
one factor (political and religious dogma) was designed to reflect the
current situation in many countries around the world. The individual
items within a risk factor were summed and then a mean score was
calculated. By doing this, each factor could be interpreted on the same
Likert scale as the items from which it was created. Cronbach’s alpha
was used to test the internal consistency of each. The pervasiveness of
some of these factors in the literature provided a strong theoretical
rationale for grouping them in this way, which was favored over an
exploratory factor analysis commonly used when no pre-conceived
relationship between variables exists (Kim and Mueller 1978). Further-
more, this method allows for direct testing of the literature (an area
of future research would be to find support for this conceptual model
using confirmatory factor analysis).
A three way ANOVA was used to determine the effect of tourist role,
previous experience, and gender on the perception of risk associated
with international tourism. The seven risk factors operationalized with
the 18-item scale were used as dependent variables; tourist role, pre-
vious experience, and gender were the independent variables. The
focus of the analysis was to determine the main effects of the inde-
pendent variables; all non-significant interaction terms were dropped
from the model. As such, this analysis centered on the following gen-
eral null hypothesis: Young adults’ perception of risk (specific to the
seven risk factors) does not vary according to preference for Cohen’s
tourist roles, previous experience, or gender.

Study Findings
Seven perceived risk factors were identified. All of the factors have
high internal consistency with the exception of petty crime
(Cronbach’s α .09, n = 287). This factor was originally composed of
two items: “pickpockets and petty thieves are a problem when traveling
internationally” and “I don’t like to stand out when traveling inter-
nationally”. The second was originally included with the petty crime
because the literature suggests that tourists try to blend in with locals
in order to avoid being targeted by criminals (Sönmez 1998). However,
because the correlation between these two items was so low, “standing
out” was dropped (because it did not specifically mention crime), thus
making the risk factor petty crime modeled by only one item. Each
risk factor can be interpreted with the same Likert scale used in part
one of the questionnaire (1=“strongly disagree”, 5=“strongly agree”).
A mean score greater than or equal to three suggests a perceived risk.
The seven factors’ mean score and Cronbach’s alpha are: health
related risks (3.55, α .60, n = 287); war and political instability (3.48,
α. 64, n = 288); terrorism (3.49, α .56, n = 289); strange food (2.51,
α .80, n = 289); cultural barriers (3.65, α .68, n = 289); national polit-
 LEPP AND GIBSON 615

ical and religious dogma (3.37, α .60, n = 288); and petty crime (3.25,
n/a, n = 287).
The remaining research questions asked whether tourist role, gen-
der, or experience might influence young adults’ perceptions of risk
associated with international tourism (Table 1). Perception of risk was
measured with the seven factors identified above. Perceptions of health
related risks varied significantly by tourist role (F = 6.943, p < 0.01).
Organized mass tourists and independent mass tourists were more con-
cerned about health risks than explorers and drifters. Perceptions of
health related risks also varied significantly by experience (F = 3.475,
p < .05), with the most experienced tourists perceiving less risk. Percep-
tions of health related risks also varied significantly by gender (F =
5.033, p < .05), with males perceiving less risk than females. Judging

Table 1. Tourist Role, Gender, Experience by Risk Factors

Type III SS df Mean Sq. F Sig

Health and Well Being

Tourist Role 7.80 3 2.60 6.94 0.00∗∗
Gender 1.89 1 1.89 5.03 0.03∗
Travel Experience 2.60 2 1.30 3.48 0.03∗
War and Political Instability
Tourist Role 17.16 3 5.72 8.47 0.00∗∗
Gender 1.79 1 1.79 2.64 0.11
Travel Experience 2.04 2 1.02 1.51 0.22
Terrorism
Tourist Role 13.85 3 4.62 5.81 0.00∗∗
Gender 0.06 1 0.06 0.07 0.79
Travel Experience 7.29 2 3.64 4.58 0.01∗∗
Role∗Gender 6.01 3 2.00 2.52 0.06
Strange Food
Tourist Role 17.83 3 5.94 5.47 0.00∗∗
Gender 4.98 1 4.98 4.59 0.03∗
Travel Experience 7.50 2 3.75 3.46 0.03∗
Political and Religious Dogma
Tourist Role 2.29 3 0.76 0.87 0.46
Gender 1.72 1 1.72 1.97 0.16
Travel Experience 0.46 2 0.23 0.26 0.77
Role∗Gender 5.86 3 1.95 2.22 0.09
Cross Cultural Differences
Tourist Role 3.94 3 1.31 1.65 0.18
Gender 0.49 1 0.49 0.61 0.44
Travel Experience 4.29 2 2.15 2.69 0.07
Role∗Gender 5.91 3 1.97 2.47 0.06
Role∗Experience 10.39 6 1.73 2.17 0.05∗
Petty Crime
Tourist Role 2.43 3 0.81 0.87 0.46
Gender 0.02 1 0.02 0.02 0.88
Travel Experience 5.29 2 2.65 2.85 0.06
∗ ∗∗
p < .05; p < .01.
616 PERCEIVED RISK

by the magnitude of the F-statistic and the type III Sum of Squares,
tourist role is the most important variable in explaining variation in
the perception of health related risks.
The perception of risk due to war and political instability varied sig-
nificantly by tourist role (F = 8.469, p < .01). Drifters perceived war
and political instability to be less of a risk than the other roles. The
perception of risk associated with war and political stability did not
vary significantly by gender (F = 2.644, p = .105) or experience (F =
1.506, p = .223).
The perception of risk associated with terrorism varied significantly
by tourist role (F = 5.807, p < .01). Organized mass tourists perceived
terrorism as a greater risk than the other three roles and Independent
mass tourists perceived it to be a greater risk than drifters. There was
no difference in this perception between explorers and drifters. Ter-
rorism-related risks varied significantly by experience (F = 4.582, p <
.01). Those respondents with the most experience perceived terrorism
to be less of a risk. Gender alone was not significant (F = .073, p =
.788); however, an interaction between gender and tourist role was
moderately significant (F = 2.520, p = .058). Judging by the magnitude
of the F-statistic and the type III Sum of Squares, Cohen’s tourist role
typology is the most powerful variable in explaining variation in the
perception of risk related to terrorism.
Although risk pertaining to encountering strange food was not a
concern to the majority of respondents, it did vary significantly by tour-
ist role (F = 5.475, p < .01). In this case, organized mass tourists per-
ceived strange food to be more of a concern than individuals favoring
the other three roles. Gender was significant (F = 4.586, p < .05), with
men perceiving less risk than women. Experience was also significant
(F = 3.456, p < .05). Respondents with the least experience perceived
greater risk than those with the most. Again, tourist role yielded the
largest F-statistic and the type III Sum of Squares and was the most
important variable explaining variation in the perception of risk
related to strange food.
The perception of risk related to cultural barriers and political and
religious dogma did not vary significantly by gender, experience, or
role. However, cultural barriers displayed an interaction between the
last two (F = 2.174, p < .05) and a possible moderate interaction
between role and gender (F = 2.472, p = .062). Crime related risk
perceptions did not vary significantly by role or gender; yet, a possible
moderate influence may be related to experience (F = 2.855, p =
.059). Still, a conservative post hoc analysis using Bonferroni’s method
to construct 95% confidence intervals could not identify a clear differ-
ence among any groups. It should be noted that this does not mean
that these factors are not valid causes of perceived risk. Instead, it sug-
gests that perceived risk as a result of these three factors does not
vary significantly among young American adults as classified by role,
experience, or gender.
 LEPP AND GIBSON 617

The Role of Novelty in Perceived Risk

The proposition that a tourist’s preference for novelty is associated

with perceived risk seems to be supported by this study. In addition,
results indicate the existence of seven risk factors associated with inter-
national tourism. Indeed, the literature’s suggestion that terrorism, war
and political instability, health, and crime are all factors is supported
by this study. Although not mentioned in the literature, this study indi-
cated that political and religious dogma surrounding a destination con-
tributes to the perception of risk, as do cultural barriers. In fact,
strange food was identified as a risk factor among the tourists most
averse to novelty, the organized mass tourist. The perception of risk
associated with health, war and political instability, terrorism, and
strange food varied according to tourist role with familiarity seeking
individuals perceiving higher degrees of risk. Previous experience was
also a significant characteristic, particularly in relation to perceptions
of health, terrorism, and food risks. In addition, men and women dif-
fered with regards to health risks and strange food. Throughout the
results, however, tourist role based on Cohen’s typology was the most
significant characteristic in relation to perception of risk. This suggests
that differences among tourists concerning novelty seeking may trans-
late into differences in the level of risk they attach to international
tourism. In other words, those seeking higher levels of novelty may
perceive less risk than tourists insistent on familiarity. In Cohen’s ter-
minology, organized and independent mass tourists’ perceptions of
risk are similar because they have nearly the same requirements for
safe tourism. Risk perceptions of explorers and drifters are similar
because they are congruently motivated. Therefore, organized and
independent mass tourists should differ from explorers and drifters in
their perceptions of risk. This hypothesis is substantiated by the results.
Health, war and political instability, terrorism, and strange food are
all perceived to be less risky by novelty seekers than by those who prefer
familiarity. Indeed, what may be a source of fear for the organized
mass tourist may be a source of excitement for the drifter.
Wahlers and Etzel (1985) demonstrated the importance of novelty
as an explanation for vacation preference. Their research showed that
novelty seekers prefer stimulating vacations, while novelty avoiders pre-
fer more structured and tranquil vacations. Plog (1974) suggested that
tourists differ in their degree of “adventuresomeness”, with the most
adventurous tourists (the allocentrics) blazing the trail to new desti-
nations, while psychocentric tourists visit destinations once they have
become institutionalized and familiar. Sönmez and Graefe (1998a)
initially operationalized personality type in terms of Plog’s allocentric-
psychocentric continuum in their study of the perceptions of risk asso-
ciated with international tourism. They postulated quite correctly that
personality type might be influential in explaining differences in per-
ceptions of risk. However, they did not include personality type in their
final analysis. Interestingly, Madrigal (1995) found that tourists who
placed a high value on security tended to be psychocentric. He also
618 PERCEIVED RISK

found no perceptible differences between men and women and the

likelihood that they preferred individual or group travel.
Within this sample, there were some gender-based differences with
men perceiving health and food to be less risky than women. However,
with regards to the other five factors, men and women did not differ.
In general, the literature is inconsistent in terms of gender-related dif-
ferences and similarities regarding tourism related risk. Sönmez and
Graefe (1998a) found that gender did not influence an individual’s
perception of risk. However, other research has shown that gender
does influence touristic choices (Enloe 1989; Hawes 1988; Wearing
and Wearing 1996). An alternative explanation comes from Gibson
and Jordan (1998a, 1998b) who found that gender does not work alone
at explaining the diversity of styles among solo women tourists from
the United States and the United Kingdom. In this study, an interac-
tion between gender and role was found to be significant for terrorism.
Female drifters perceived less risk than male drifters, while among
other tourist roles men perceived less risk than women. Likewise, a
moderate interaction between gender and tourist role related to cul-
tural risks seems to be suggestive of a relationship. In this study, female
independent mass tourists and female drifters were slightly less con-
cerned about cultural barriers than their male counterparts. For
organized mass tourists and explorers, the opposite was true. As Carr
(2001) postulated, such inconsistencies may be indicative of psycho-
logical factors, such as an innate optimal level of stimulation. This may
overcome the influence of socialization whereby some females have
learned not to take as many risks as their male counterparts (Deem
1986; Lopata 1987). Certainly, Elsrud found that both male and female
solo backpackers “practice risks” in their travels, although she sug-
gested the meanings associated with these risks might be different for
men and women (2001:602). One avenue for future research might
be to adopt a qualitative approach and investigate in more depth the
similarities and differences in perceptions of risk among men and
women.
The fact that touristic experience was significant in explaining some
differences in the perception of risk is supported by previous research
(Sönmez and Graefe 1998a, 1998b). This relates to the work of Pearce
(1988, 1996) who hypothesized that more experienced tourists will
seek to satisfy higher order needs, while those less experienced are
more likely to be occupied with lower order needs such as food and
safety. In this study, less experienced tourists were more occupied with
health, terrorism, and food concerns than their counterparts. Like gen-
der, it should be noted that experience might interact with tourist role.
This was the case with the perception of risk related to cultural bar-
riers. For organized mass tourists, individuals with the most experience
actually perceived greater risk regarding cultural barriers than those
with less experience. The same was found to be true of drifters. This is
a rather curious finding. Perhaps in some cases, exposure to different
cultures may make tourists more cautious, although this explanation
does not hold for independent mass tourists and explorers. They fol-
lowed the expected pattern of more experience equating to less con-
 LEPP AND GIBSON 619

cern with risk. While atypical for the study, this demonstrates that
occasional unexplained variation may exist within tourist roles.
The perceived risk related to political and religious dogma and petty
crime did not vary among role, gender, or experience. However, it is
possible that similar perceptions can be interpreted differently. There-
fore, even though novelty seekers are aware of risks related to political
or religious dogma, these may be the same factors that motivate the
novelty seeker. One can imagine situations where perceived risk is con-
stant among all tourists, yet those less averse to risk will travel while
their counterparts will not. For example, Elsrud (2001) found that drif-
ters might travel to destinations explorers deem too risky. Crime also
failed to vary among role, gender, or experience. It may be that crime
is perceived as a universal problem, something the tourist must accept.
This was the conclusion of Brunt, Mawby and Hambly (2000) who pos-
tulated that among British tourists, concerns over crime were like com-
plaints about weather, ubiquitous. They found that despite this ever-
present concern, it was left at home when the holiday began and has
not yet translated into a constraint away from home. Such an attitude
may be common among Americans as well. Especially when images of
crime are pervasive in the mass media.

CONCLUSION
Since this sample was composed of US-born university students, the
generalizability of these findings is limited to similar populations. Fol-
lowing the literature, the sample was delimited by lifestage, socioecon-
omic status, and nationality. As such, this study contributes to a better
understanding of the perceptions of risk associated with international
tourism for young, largely middle class Americans. One avenue for
future research would be to repeat this study with people at different
stages in the lifestage and from different nationalities. Within these
delimitations, understanding how individuals perceive risk related to
international tourism has a number of implications. Results indicate
the existence of identifiable risk factors associated with it. From a prac-
tical standpoint, identifying these factors might contribute to a better
understanding of destination image in terms of risk and safety. Con-
ceivably, the image that individuals hold of the risks at a destination
may influence the likelihood of visiting it. As such, these findings have
important implications for understanding touristic behavior and desti-
nation marketing. It seems logical that marketers can improve the
image of a destination by decreasing the perception that specific risk
factors are present. Image based on safety may become increasingly
important as the number of economies tied to tourism increases. The
perception of risk associated with a destination can have dire economic
consequences. This was evident in the United Kingdom where the foot
and mouth epidemic cost $140 million in lost tourism revenues per
week during spring 2001 (CNN Europe 2001). For researchers, desti-
nation studies could incorporate these factors, as perceived risk might
influence a successful image.
Realistically, controlling risk perception may be difficult when com-
620 PERCEIVED RISK

peting against mass media bent on sensationalizing such occurrences.

The British Tourism Authority spent $6 million on advertising to try
to revive their $21 billion tourism industry after “mad cow” and “Bri-
tain” were paired throughout international headlines (CNN Europe
2001). The results of this study suggest that marketers of destinations
affected by real or imagined risk factors need to target tourists with a
higher tolerance for risk (Cohen’s explorers and drifters). It appears
that differences among tourists in terms of novelty seeking translate
into differences in the level of risk they perceive to accompany inter-
national tourism. These findings reveal that novelty seekers may toler-
ate higher levels of risk. From an academic standpoint, this substan-
tiates the idea that personality might be important in understanding
tourist role preference (Cohen 1972; Frew and Shaw 1999; Hoxter and
Lester 1987, 1988; Madrigal 1995; Plog 1974) and differences in the
perception of risk associated with tourism (Carr 2001; Roehl and
Fesenmaier 1992; Sönmez and Graefe 1998a). Future research might
use psychometric measures to investigate the possible influence of
psychological traits on role preference. Personality measures have been
used sparsely in tourism research. The identification of optimal level
of stimulation as underlying touristic preference points to the need
to better understand the psychological influences on tourist behavior
(Wahlers and Etzel 1985). Over the last ten years, the growing under-
standing of differences among tourists has led to many specialized mar-
kets; but as yet, there has been little recognition that tourists differ in
terms of what they perceive to be risky.
In summary, tourism planners need to be aware of which risks might
cause stress among tourists, an awareness that should also inform mar-
keting strategies. This is of particular importance in the developing
world where tourism is being promoted as an important market sector
(Burns 1999). In such cases, the accepted tourism development strat-
egy encourages large investments and high class resorts (Burns 1999;
Hampton 1998). These opulent resorts cater to the organized and
independent mass tourists. Unfortunately, these are the most risk
averse type and may be the most likely to abandon vacation plans in
the face of perceived risk. This may be considered with the findings
of Carter (1998) and Cossens and Gin (1994) who have shown that
large areas of the developing world are generalized as risky. The results
of this study suggest that the sustainability of such development stra-
tegies should be questioned. Tourism marketers need to learn how to
guard against the “generalization effect” as perceived risk can have
severe economic consequences. In light of recent events (such as the
terrorism attacks of September 11, 2001), understanding the factors
of perceived risk is vital to the larger notion of international tourism.왎A

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version 7 November 2002. Refereed anonymously. Coordinating Editor: Philip L. Pearce